Modi says Congress has `anti-Gujarat mindset`

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Sunday launched an attack on the Congress, accusing it of having an "anti-Gujarat mindset" and opposing his developmental programmes.

Addressing a series of election meetings at Rajpipla, Jambusar and Dhandhuka, Modi said the Congress "for the last 12 years, has done only one thing - to use all sorts of abusive terms from the dictionary for Modi".

"The people of Gujarat will never accept the negative politics of the Congress," he said.

Taking a dig at the infighting in the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief minister said: "How can those who cannot even win the trust of their workers win the trust of the people of Gujarat?"

The chief minister, who has been described by senior party colleague Sushma Swaraj as "fit" for the top job of prime minister, accused the Congress of opposing his programmes, including the Swarnim Gujarat celebration and obstructing construction of gates on the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

"The Congress has always shown an anti-Gujarat mindset."

In his tweets as well as in his speeches, Modi said the Congress has failed in Gujarat while it was in power and has also failed as an opposition party. "This will be the reason for their historic defeat in the election," he said.

Gujarat goes to assembly polls on Dec 13 and 17. The BJP chief minister is largely expected to win, which will make it his third consecutive win.

On Saturday, he tweeted: "Guj is the land of Sardar Patel! No force can overcome or buy us. If Congress dreams to do so, they are highly mistaken!

"Six crore Gujaratis are united against injustice of UPA & unanimous for development! We have worked not only for present but also for future!"